Throughout the course of his illustrious NBA career, LeBron James has accomplished some incredible things.
From winning four championships to becoming the league’s all-time leading scorer, the King has seemingly done it all. Along the way, James has also managed to pull off some of the most-incredible comebacks the NBA has ever seen.
Obviously, the most famous comeback occurred in the 2016 NBA Finals, in which James led the Cleveland Cavaliers to a remarkable comeback from a 3-1 series deficit to beat the 73-9 Golden State Warriors. Beyond that, though, James has also engineered some amazing comebacks in individual games. NBA fans saw James’ clutch factor in action again on Sunday afternoon.
Early in the games, James and the Los Angeles Lakers looked dead in the water against the Dallas Mavericks, trailing 48-21 at one point in the second quarter. After that, though, the King showed why it’s impossible to count him out, leading LA to a 111-108 victory. The 27-point comeback was the largest in the NBA this season.
With this game still fresh in our mind, where does it rank among James’ greatest come-from-behind wins? Today, we’re answering that question as we rank the King’s four greatest comebacks in his career.
4. January 22, 2023: Lakers defeat Trail Blazers 121-112
This game is one of the more recent additions to our list, taking place just over a month ago. The Lakers actually got off to a good start in this one, as they jumped out to an 18-4 lead just three and a half minutes into the first quarter. Soon after, though, the Portland Trail Blazers began to take over.
Portland absolutely dominated the second quarter, outscoring LA 45-13. In that quarter alone, the Blazers went on separate runs of 15-2 and 13-0, with the latter closing out the half. The Lakers trailed by 25 at halftime, but then started to come alive as the second half went on.
LA outscored Portland 40-20 in the third quarter, then 35-21 in the fourth. The end result was an improbable 121-112 win for the Lakers, largely thanks to 37 points from James. Thomas Bryant and Dennis Schroder also had big games for LA, scoring 31 and 24 points, respectively. For Portland, Anfernee Simons led the team with 31 points and Damian Lillard had 24, but it wasn’t enough to slow down James and the Lakers here.
3. April 20, 2017: Cavaliers defeat Pacers 119-114
This game just so happens to be the lone playoff contest on this list. James and the Cavaliers were in a dogfight with the Indiana Pacers, but won both of the first two games on home court to take a 2-0 series lead. The Pacers were desperate to get back in the series as it shifted to Indiana, and they played like it at first in Game 3 of this series.
The Pacers blitzed the Cavaliers early on, taking a 74-49 lead into half. Their lead was actually ballooned up to 26 at one point, as Paul George hit a three-pointer to put them ahead 72-46. That would be the largest lead of the night, though, as Cleveland would erupt for a huge second half.
The Cavaliers outscored the Pacers 70-40 in the second half, winning the game 119-114 to take a 3-0 stranglehold in the series. James was absolutely dominant, scoring 41 points while shooting over 50% from the field. No other Cavalier had more than 13 points, with four players all scoring that amount. George led the Pacers with 36 points in what would be his second-to-last game as a Pacer.
Of course, the Cavs then completed the sweep of the Pacers just three days later. They then swept the Toronto Raptors and beat the Boston Celtics in five games before losing to the Warriors in five games in the 2017 NBA Finals.
2. March 20, 2013: Heat defeat Cavaliers 98-95
Yes, one of James’ greatest comebacks came at the expense of his former, and future, team. The Heat were fresh off winning the 2012 Finals, but they certainly didn’t look like champions early on against the lowly Cavs. Cleveland took a 21-point lead into half, and that lead would grow to as much as 27 midway through the third quarter.
Once that happened, though, Miami began to look more like its dominant self. The Heat cut the deficit to just nine by the end of the quarter, and a 17-2 run early in the fourth put them in front. Cleveland came within one in the final minute, but it wasn’t enough as Miami held on for a three-point win.
James himself scored just 25 points, but he still led all players in scoring and posted a triple-double as well. Wayne Ellington led Cleveland with 20 points, with five other Cavs scored in double figures. This marked the Heat’s 24th straight win in a streak that would make it all the way 27 before finally being snapped.
1. February 26, 2023: Lakers defeat Mavericks 111-108
The King’s most recent comeback may just be his most impressive yet. It’s no surprise that things haven’t exactly gone the Lakers’ way this season, as they are just 29-32 and sit in 12th place in the Western Conference. However, as long as James is on their roster, no one can write the Lakers off just yet, and Sunday’s game proved why.
The game got off to a rough start, as LA trailed Dallas 28-16 after one quarter. The Mavericks then went on a 20-5 scoring run to start the second, extending their lead to 27. As we have seen many times before, though, James’ team responded when the going got rough.
LA started to put it together late in the second quarter, cutting Dallas’ lead to 14 at halftime. Then, the Lakers had a strong third quarter, outscoring the Mavs 31-20. The teams went back and forth in the final frame, but Anthony Davis’ dunk with 18 seconds left helped the Lakers complete the miraculous comeback.
James scored 26 himself, but Davis led the Lakers with 30 points. Dallas’ star guard duo of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving also had a solid game, scoring 26 and 21 respectively. This marked a crucial win for the Lakers as they try to stay in the playoff race. Even at 38 years old, James is still just as great and clutch as always, and he proved as much on Sunday.
Source: https://clutchpoints.com
